At a meeting of the European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that Estonia strongly supports setting a start date for European Union accession negotiations with Serbia as well as starting negotiations for a stabilisation and association agreement with Kosovo.

“Both Serbia and Kosovo have shown their dedication and desire to integrate with the European Union,” Foreign Minister Paet confirmed. According to Paet, this dedication was demonstrated by their agreement regarding the future of North Kosovo and the approval of an implementation plan to bring the agreement to life. “There is no doubt that a lot of work must still be done to implement the agreement, but Serbia and Kosovo have taken clear steps towards creating good neighbourly relations. These steps must be recognised,” he stated.

“Strong support for giving Serbia a concrete start date for accession negotiations and starting negotiations for an association agreement with Kosovo will encourage the Western Balkan countries to make further reforms and also affirm the trustworthiness of the European Union’s enlargement policy,” the Estonian foreign minister noted. “It will also help in implementing the North Kosovo agreement,” he added.